Turkey postpones joint patrols with Russia in Syrian Idlib

Tuesday, October 16, 2018 1:00:00 PM

Patrolling the demilitarized zone in the Syrian province of Idlib scheduled for October 15th was temporarily put on hold due to a request by the Turkish side, reports a RIA News source, familiar with the situation.

“Turkey asked for more time and to postpone the start of joint patrols in Idlib. The Russian side was ready to start this morning,” said a source in the agency.

According to the source, the Turkish side referred to safety concerns, which so far, they cannot fully guarantee.

“We cannot say with certainty when the patrolling will start, maybe in the coming days,” added the source.

The Turkish Defense Ministry reported a complete withdrawal of large weaponry from the demilitarized zone in Idlib including tanks, MLRS, and artillery of all opposition groups. The start of the full-scale operating zone was scheduled for October 15th. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the start date for an operational demilitarized zone may be moved “for a day or two” and this does not have an impact. Turkish and Russian military agreed to coordinate their patrols of an area of 15-20 kilometers in the Idlib province.